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9 Answers
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The website http://OhioEuchre.Com/ has much information on bidding strategies. Euchre is a game of chance where aggression pays off. The more you play the better you will get. Take chances! Even when you are getting euchred you're learning more about the game.

The person that said there is little strategy to euchre is incorrect. Just play in any tournament. You'll see that the same people seem to win most of the time. I don't think they're just luckly. I think they took the time to learn the different strategies of the game

Most players will learn when to bid by feel, but for those who are not yet at that point or prefer something more concrete, you can assign a score to your hand, in order to determine whether you should bid.

Some players use a 3-2-1 point system, with the bowers worth 3 points each, face trumps worth 2 points each, and low trumps or off-suit aces worth 1 point each. In this system, any hand of 7 points or above is worth bidding.

Another system is simply scoring your hand by tricks. A right bower is worth a full trick. A Left bower is worth 3/4 of a trick. Ace, King, or Queen of trump is worth 1/2 a trick. And low trump is worth 1/4 of a trick. Each trump card in your hand beyond the second gets a 1/4 trick bonus. Meanwhile, off-suit aces are worth 3/4 of a trick, but lose 1/4 of a trick for every other card you have in that suit. And finally, every suit in which you are void is worth 1/4 trick, if you have more than one trump card. Using this method, you can bid whenever your average hand value is at least 2.5 tricks.

Conservatively, the idea would be to have at least 3 trump with one of the top 3 being in that group though I have played lots of times where I'd have 2 trump with one of the top 3 and an off-suit Ace.

Some people will play a much more aggressive style though there are a few variations to keep in mind as some people will play a stick the dealer rule and there can be variations when ordering up one's partner as to whether or not that triggers a lone hand.

Just play the game a lot and you'll learn when to bid and when not to. I find euchre to have a fairly small amount of strategy to it.

In general If you have 3 trump and one of them is A or better, then you can feel free to bid. If you have some off-trump Aces, than that's a good sign and you should bid.

You also have to consider what card you might be giving to the dealer, you don't want to be giving an opponent the right unless you believe that you will win 3 out of the 4 other tricks.

Going alone is all about game control. When deciding about whether or not to go alone, You have to consider how much control that you'll have over the game, and you have to consider what can take your control away.

for instance, if you get to go first and you have

right Ace King of trump and two off-aces, than you can try to draw the left out with your right, and if you do, than nothing can stop you from winning all the tricks.

First, I had no idea that Euchre had a point system (with regard to the value of each card in the deck). I played in college and I found that, more important than a strict strategy on how to play a certain hand, is to learn the habits of your opponents. I realize this is not novel considering card games. But with Euchre it becomes even more important, because there are only five cards in a hand, and winning a hand has a small margin for error.

That being said, I'd like to pass along what has worked for me:

It is a position of power to be the dealer, no doubt. Equally as powerful is to be to the immediate left of the dealer. You have the first option to either order it up, or to call your own suit when it goes around.

When it is your turn to decide whether you want to name the suit (or order it up to the other team), consider the saying "You can always count on your partner for 1 trick". This is not always the case. But, if your opponents are close to going out, you should be prepared to call it up and play as if you do expect your partner to get one. This includes leading into him, and letting his non-bower trumps ride.

In general, it is bad practice to call it up if you don't have at least one bower. My wildcard nature has me taking chances where, for example, I am 2- or 3-suited, and I have at least 3-4 trump (no bowers), or 3 trump including the left. Decisions like these become easier to make when the opponents turned over a jack.

More "Wildcard-Nature-Bad Advice": if I find myself seated to the left of the dealer, and IF THEY have been "screwed by the deal", I consider it permissible to lead low trump. It doesn't always work, but sometimes it bleeds the non-dealer opponent. It could also bleed your partner. Use with caution.

More obvious tips which I'm sure most players employ: if you have a plurality of trump, and these cards are consecutive trump, and if you are being bled of trump, always play the highest consecutive trump. ( if you also have a 9, but it is not part of your consecutive run, play that instead ) This instills a false sense of security in your opponents, and they may feel it is safe to lead their aces.

If Stealing The Deal is a gambit available to you, I personally prefer to not, as per the power position of being to the left of the dealer

TO improve at Euchre, play a game that makes even greater demands on your strategic thinking, and play technique. Playing Bridge I have seen my Euchre level rise as my capability at Bridge increased, but playing any of 9-5-2, Whist, Hearts, Pinochle and many others (along with Euchre as well, naturally) will improve your play.

As one example, learning when to lose a trick that you don't have to, such as leading out a low trump instead of a high one, can be worth nearly a half a point a game.

"The dealer determines the trump suit". That doesn't seem like an accurate statement. The only special power of the dealer is picking up the turned up card if anyone declares that suit trump.
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bwarnerJan 15 '13 at 17:30

I would only consider A of a suite 1 if I do not have a lot of that suit (A +1 max) otherwise, there is a good chance one of my opponents will not have any of that suit and be able to trump. I guess it also depends on which trick # I think I will be able to play the A.
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Colin DAug 16 '12 at 18:41

1

You don't bid a number in Euchre, so the sentence before your disclaimer doesn't make much sense.
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bwarnerJan 15 '13 at 17:31

@bwarner Guess I should change me disclaimer to "It's been a REALLY LONG while since I played"
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KevinJan 15 '13 at 19:24